This invention relates to wc-disposable bags.
There are several important criteria that must be satisfied by an ostomy bag. Firstly, it must be highly ordor proof over the entire period for which it is worn and in all circumstances of varying temperature and humidity etc. Secondly, the bag must be inconspicuous from outside the wearer's clothing. For this reason, the bag material must not rustle or make other noises when the wearer moves. The bag should also be thin and flexible so that it conforms to the wearer's anatomy without producing bulges or ridges beneath the clothing. Thirdly, the bag must be reliable and secure so that the wearer can have high confidence that the bag will not tear or come apart at the edge seal during use. Fourthly, the bag must be affordable, which means that it must be able to be made at low cost.
Attempts have been made recently to develop ostomy and urine bags which can be disposed of by flushing in a wc, to avoid the need to make special disposal arrangements, which can be inconvenient, embarrassing and unhygenic.
Where a bag is also required to be wc disposable, this adds further difficulties to the choice of materials and manufacturing techniques, since the bag must possess all the above properties while also being capable of being disposed of by flushing in a wc. The problems are further compounded if the bag must be resistant to water, so that it can be worn safely in wet conditions. The selection of appropriate combinations of different materials that enables a bag to satisfy these requirements requires considerable skill and experiment.
WC-disposable bags have been proposed in the literature, the bags having an outer water-soluble or dispersible layer and an inner water-resistant layer. The outer layer provides mechanical support for the inner layer so that, when the bag is dropped into turbulent water in a wc pan, the outer layer is quickly broken up. The inner layer prevents the contents of the bag attacking the outer layer in use but, once the outer layer is broken up on disposal, the inner layer does not have sufficient mechanical strength in itself to cause blockage on flushing the wc An example of such a bag is described in GB 2083762B. A wc-disposable bag is sold by SIMS Portex Limited, England under the name Symphony (Symphony is a Registered Trade Mark of SIMS Portex Limited).
Although such bags can be used satisfactorily, the fact that the outer layer is damaged by contact with water means that the user has to take special precautions to ensure that the outside of the bag does not become wet. This can be especially inconvenient with bags which are worn long-term, for two or more days, such as is usually the case with ileostomy bags. The use of such bags can make washing difficult and prevents the user swimming.
An alternative form of bag is described in EP 0142950A, which is made of 3-hydroxybutyrate film, either in a laminate with a water-soluble film as an outer layer, or entirely from 3-hydroxybutyrate. Such a material remains intact when in contact with water or body waste, but is broken up if the pH is raised to about 12. The bag described is disposed of by adding a base material to the contents of the bag so as to raise the pH of the contents to at least 12 so that it breaks up when agitated in a we pan. The laminated construction would not avoid the disadvantages referred to above of having to keep the outside of the bag dry. Furthermore, 3-hydroxybutyrate does not provide sufficient ordor barrier properties to be useful in a practical bag.
A further alkali-disposable bag is described in GB 2195919B. The walls of this bag have a central layer of polyvinyl alcohol, an inner layer of a blend of polyvinylidene chloride acrylonitrile copolymer with carboxylated acrylic copolymer, and an outer layer of two or more coatings of carboxylated acrylic acid. This bag can be disposed of in a wc by adding an alkali to the water in the pan. The material proposed for the inner layer combines the alkali-solubility of carboxylated acrylic copolymer with the high ordor barrier properties of polyvinylidene chloride acrylonitrile copolymer, the blend being water resistant. However, in practice it has been found difficult to produce an inner layer having sufficiently high ordor barrier properties while also being broken up quickly in alkali. Furthermore, the polyvinyl alcohol central layer is difficult to coat because the high resistance of polyvinyl alcohol to organic solvents produces a weak interply adhesion. Attempts to use an aqueous-based coating material have not been entirely satisfactory because the polyvinyl alcohol abstracts the water from the coating too quickly to enable a high quality film to be produced. Although it is possible to produce bags according to GB 2195919B that will function, their speed of disposability and ordor barrier properties are not as good as would be desired.
Another alkali-disposable bag is described in GB 2257056. This bag has an outer layer substantially entirely of alkali-soluble/water-insoluble carboxylated acrylic polymer forming a major part of the thickness of the material and a thinner, inner layer of alkali-resistant polyvinylidene chloride bonded directly to one side of the first layer. One problem with this bag is that the outer layer can in some cases become softened by the warmth and humidity of the wearer's body, causing the bag to be deformed by its weight and that of its contents. This can lead to damage to the inner layer and leakage of ordor.